Theyre not coming: N.B. border town says fewer U.S. visitors making big impact – New Brunswick [Video]

Traffic at the New Brunswick-Maine border is down 38 per cent, and for businesses that rely on traffic from south of the border, it’s been a real struggle.

In the town of St. Stephen, N.B., the stream of cross-border shoppers from Maine has slowed down to a trickle.

“They used to come over every Friday, Saturday, they’d do their shopping, groceries over here and everything. And they’re not coming here now,” said Cathy Sears, who runs King St. Take Out.

“We had to bump up our prices and we have to close two days a week because of no sales.”

The town’s mayor, Allan MacEachern, says efforts are underway within the National Border Mayors’ Alliance to secure tariff relief or government grants, but results have been slow to come.

“We’re totally reliant on the movement of people and products and being a border community, that’s exactly what we are. So, …